Thursday, 2 August 2012

The puzzle of personalisation: understanding the possibilities and potential

Written by Richard Hazledine, Consultant at ConnectMore Solutions and member of East Midlands Health and Social Care Network Steering Group

At a time of funding cuts personalisation
represents a new area where voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations
can potentially develop new sources of income. There are strong arguments to
promote the personalisation ideals of ‘choice’ and ‘control’ for users of
health and social care services in terms of increased independence, confidence
and wellbeing.

Whilst the potential exists for providers
to develop new and innovative ways to deliver services it can be difficult for
organisations to understand the journey they need to undertake to prepare for
personalisation. This is arguably because so many organisations are used to funding
through grants or Local Authority block contracts. The process to secure the
custom of personal budget holders is not really like either of these
traditional sources of funding.

To help VCS organisations consider the
possibilities of personalisation this article seeks to explore six key
questions that organisations should consider in any appraisal of their
potential to deliver services for personal budget holders?

1.Do the people we support meet the
eligibility criteria for a personal budget?This is the starting point for most
organisations to understand if they are well placed to work with personal
budget holders. Local Authorities define the eligibility criteria for
personalisation against the Fair Access Care (FACs) criteria. Understanding the
criteria is the first step that your organisation should take to ascertain the
strength of the connection between your existing service user group and
emerging personal budget holders. Typically authorities will be looking to
identify ‘critical’ and ‘substantial’ needs to meet the eligibility criteria.
These needs will usually be found in older people 65+ those with physical,
learning and sensory disabilities and users of mental health services.

2.Do we know what services personal
budget holders will actually want to purchase?Once organisations understand that there is a
market to provide support services to personal budget holders the next question
to consider is what services are these individuals likely to request? If your
organisation cannot answer this question then appropriate consultation should
take place with service users to gain more clarity. Ideally your organisation
should understand the principles of person centred planning to ascertain this
information. Consultation conducted appropriately at this stage will also
provide clues on how to market your services.

3. Do we understand how to market our
services? In order to effectively market your
services organisations should understand what is important to service users and
wider influencers of the decision making process (families, carers and
professionals). Price, whilst important, may not be the primary consideration
for personal budget holders. Factors such as credibility, reliability,
location, peer interaction, qualified staff and the provision of services which
provide opportunities to develop new confidence, skills and independence may
also influence the final decision to choose a particular provider.

4.Do we understand how to price our
services? In a world of personalisation all
providers will be expected to price services individually. Developing
chargeable services represents a big change for many VCS organisations. Traditionally
the work of many organisations has been financed through block contracts from
the Local Authority. In future these arrangements will become less commonplace
as organisations prepare to cost and price services for individuals at unit
cost/price levels. These are significant changes for many VCS organisations
which will in turn place new demands on personnel working in finance
functions.

5.Do we understand how our back-office
functions will support personalisation?In addition to pricing considerations
organisations will need to restructure their financial systems to cope with the
requirements of personalisation.Traditionally block contract or grant funding arrangements are
underpinned by a relatively small number of infrequent transactions with a
funder.To be ready for personalisation
providers should be prepared to maintain individual contractual and financial
arrangements with each personal budget holder. This in turn is likely to entail
a significant increase in the number of invoices processed each financial year.
Similarly, there will be a need to agree appropriate payment terms with each
personal budget holder.

6.Do we have a plan to invest in our
staff teams? At the heart of personalisation is the
need for person centred planning and chargeable service provision. In the world
of personalisation the service user becomes the commissioner. This in turn
means changed relationships for staff and service users. Therefore
organisations should consider appropriate training, support and encouragement
for staff to understand why and how it is necessary to navigate these changes.

These are no small changes for many VCS
organisations. The organisations that make the appropriate plans to restructure
their services can begin to embark on a new journey with personal budget
holders. The process is likely to reshape the culture affecting the way that
many organisations operate and an ability to manage change is crucial. Emerging
evidence suggests that personalisation can become the primary source of income
for many organisations working intensively with vulnerable individuals. At a
time when many organisations are seriously reviewing their future
sustainability personalisation is therefore one opportunity that requires
serious consideration.